Facebook's App Center Begins Appearing in iOS App

As noted by TechCrunch, some users of Facebook's app for iOS have noticed the social network's new "App Center" tab showing up in the navigation menu within the app. The feature is designed as a one-stop destination for app discovery on a variety of platforms, with recommendations based on Facebook's editors' selections and personalized by drawing from the usage of each person's friends.

Similar to the interfaces that the company showed off in early May when it announced the App Center plans, you can see a left-hand navigation feature within Facebook’s feature-heavy iOS app. Apps with unread notifications appear in the top section. If you click through, you see the App Center (and you’ll note that the logo in the screenshot also matches what Facebook has previously released).

facebook app center ios 1
Within the app center, a "Social Picks" tab offers apps based on what the user's friends have used, while a "Top Apps" tab contains picks from Facebook's editors as determined by quality and popularity. The listings include iOS, Android, HTML5, and desktop apps, with users able to click directly through to the App Store or other marketplaces to download apps.

facebook app center ios 2
The Next Web argues that the addition of App Center will be a major boost for Apple, helping quality apps to surface from among Facebook's hundreds of millions of users and those top apps to be easily accessible to other users.

By launching this App Center, Facebook is actually doing Apple a gigantic favor in two regards. First, it will become a serious point of distribution for Apple developers, secondarily it will be a great avenue to talk Facebook developers into building iOS apps if they haven’t so far. [...]

Facebook’s App Center won’t be clouded by anything other than actual data and usage. Imagine that, apps will actually bubble up to the top based on how often people engage with them.

After several years of what has appeared to be a tenuous relationship between Apple and Facebook, it certainly appears that the two companies are now moving to work more closely together. At the D10 conference late last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at Facebook integration and perhaps other announcements in that vein, urging users to "stay tuned".

For us, we want to provide customers simple and elegant ways to do the things they want to do. Facebook has hundreds of millions of customers. So, anyone that has an iPhone or iPad, we want them to have the best experience with Facebook on those platforms. So stay tuned.

Just a few days after Cook's comments, it was reported that Apple will indeed show off Facebook integration in iOS 6 at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, making it much easier for users to post photos, status updates, and other content to the social network from within iOS.

With Facebook also feeding back into the App Store through its own App Center on iOS, it certainly seems that the companies are moving quickly to solidify their relationship for their mutual benefit and to the benefit of the millions of users who rely on both Apple devices and Facebook's social network.

Popular Stories

App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple Expected to Announce Powerbeats Pro 2 on February 11 With These New Features

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:15 am PST by
Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11. Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said. Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks...
applecare apple care banner

AppleCare+ Policy Change Coming to Apple Stores

Sunday February 2, 2025 8:34 am PST by
Starting next week, Apple's retail stores will no longer offer AppleCare+ plans as a one-time purchase, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Instead, he said the stores will only offer AppleCare+ as a subscription. For example, AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $9.99 per month, or $199 upfront for two years. The latter option would no longer be available at Apple's stores....
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple May Launch New iCloud Invite Tool Codenamed 'Confetti' This Week

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:42 am PST by
As early as this week, Apple plans to introduce a new iCloud-based service for event invites, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said the new service is codenamed "Confetti" within Apple. He said the service will offer users a "new way to invite people to parties, functions, and meetings." He did not say if this functionality would be available through a ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching This Year With These 8 New Features

Tuesday January 28, 2025 11:48 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
iCloud General Feature Redux

'Apple Invites' Leaked on iCloud Website

Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced. The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company. The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...

Top Rated Comments

MasterHowl Avatar
165 months ago
They need to get the basic functions working (posting things, commenting, looking at photographs) before they add new features! C'mon Facebook...
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
165 months ago
Facebook Total Integration.

Perhaps... just perhaps, and I know this is going out on a limb here, but what if, I dunno, I don't want to be inundated with notifications about what every other person I've ever met or heard of is doing at any given moment, and don't feel the need to broadcast my every move to everyone in the world?

This self-promotion culture of do-nothing busybodies is crossing over from obnoxious to revolting.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
northernbaldy Avatar
165 months ago
I do wish they would piss off with all this Facebook nonsense :(
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrappledog Avatar
165 months ago
I really, really don't want Facebook as part of iOS. Not even happy Apple is going this route when it is just as easy to make it downloadable content. Please allow me to opt out in every way possible, or better yet delete any Facebook related components from my phone.

Thanks.

No use for Facebook whatsoever.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blu-Ray Avatar
165 months ago
I don't care how well it is integrated, I'm not giving into the world of Facebook.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
urbanj Avatar
165 months ago
Am I the only one that absolutely hates apps within Facebook?

I go as far typing in whatever I see in my feed into Google to bypass the crap like article links or that SocialCam thing.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)